Other Searches

Sports & Recreation

Best Browns Player

Chris Gardocki

Readers' Choice:
Tim Couch

Sure, laugh, he's a punter. He gets about the same amount of respect as a pederast used-car salesman -- the wuss boy on a squad of hulking mercenaries. But Gardocki is no wuss. He's 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, for one thing. He also excels at his position. Consider: The man averaged 45.5 yards per punt last year, good for third in the league. In one game against the Ravens last year, he punted 10 times, with an average (for the game) of more than 49 yards. His longest of the year was 67. Yet that's not even the most impressive thing. On a team as bad as the Browns were in 2000, Gardocki had all of zero punts blocked last season. In fact, he now holds the NFL record for consecutive punts without a block -- around 730 -- which is about how many times Browns brass should thank him. That's one position they don't have to worry about.